‘Heart sinking’: Big issue with Paris Games
Written by admin on August 29, 2024
Australia’s most celebrated Paralympian has revealed the moment her heart sank after arriving in Paris for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Madison de Rozario, who has secured six medals since 2008 — including two gold — in the 1500mT53, 5000mT53 and MarathonT53 events, admitted she felt her “heart sinking” when she saw the cobblestone streets in Paris.
de Rozario, who was a flag bearer alongside swimmer Brenden Hall during Wednesday night’s opening ceremony on the Champs-Elysees, is set to race the 800m, 1500m and 5000m at the Stade de France.
However the gold medallist will also be competing in a 42km marathon through cobblestone streets, including a 185m incline and sharp bends.
“It’s been on my mind a lot, we’ve been training in the village the last few mornings where there is a bit of a cobbled stretch through it,” de Rozario told 7NEWS.
“We’ve been doing reps of that and we’ve been briefed on what it looks like.
“To actually see the cobblestone in person and I could feel my heart sinking as we were driving over them.”
de Rozario said she has been preparing for the cobblestone streets, having had her race chair adjusted to “cater to it as much as possible”.
“We’ve been trying to find some difficult bits of road back home in Australia to train on,” she said.
“(But) at the end of the day we’re in the exact same position, a bunch of race chairs over cobbles that we’re not terribly used to.
“It’s a very intensive course and it’s very different to what Tokyo was — smooth roads and big sweeping turns — whereas here it’s very technical, more sharp turns and a lot of uneven roads.”
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The cobblestone isn’t the only big change since the Tokyo Games: Paralympians will be able to compete in front of crowds at the Paris Games, with Australian chef de mission Kate McLoughlin saying it will be “brilliant” for the athletes.
“It’s incredible for the Paralympic movement to know that Parisians and so many Australians who’ve come across here are filling these stadiums,” Ms McLoughlin said.
“(It) will be brilliant for the athletes.”
